Posted tagged ‘Basketball’

Hey Sports Fans! Sorry for the delay on the countdown, I have been traveling the country by plane and by car exploring new places and new lifestyles as I went to Lafayette, Louisiana to visit my brother in doctorate school. So let’s keep the countdown going and start with number 29 about the NMU Littler Dribblers camp on April 16, 2013.

Every year, the NMU Women’s Basketball puts on a Little Dribblers camp to teach the fundamentals of basketball to young children. This two day events is really cool for youngsters to go to the PEIF on NMU’s campus and show off their basketball talent with the women’s team.

What I loved so much about this event was the gym was absolutely packed with basketball players. It looked like their was over 300 kids in a small gym working on passing, shooting, dribbling, and teamwork. (See Video Below) So when I got a chance to put down the camera after getting all the excellent footage, I picked up a basketball and decided to shoot some hoops with the campers.

My main goal coming to the Upper Peninsula was to be involved with the community and learn more about people and their wonderful stories. So after a few minutes, I started to build up a fan base with a lot of the children. They all wanted to play basketball games against me and they wanted to steal the ball and score over me as if I was the “Jolly Green Giant.” (I’m not a giant but I can do work with a basketball in my hand)

Seeing the kids smile and laugh and tell their parents that they played with the nice sports man from TV 6 was a moment I won’t forget and I know the kids will remember that for a very long time. When I was done playing, I wanted to do interviews with some of the participants to get their reaction on the fun day to put on the 11pm news.

Once I talked to one camper, a big group of children surrounded my camera and microphone and they all wanted to talk to me about the day of activities. Normally, kids don’t want to go on camera because they are shy and usually don’t know what to say with the light shinning in their faces. But when my TV 6 mic flag was showing, it was like I was the Beatles entering the stage to play on the Ed Sullivan show. That was as cool as it gets.

And when you get that much love, it always sticks in the back of your mind. I love the game of basketball so much and I know those kids went home smiling knowing they loved basketball as well.

It’s that time again. College Basketball season is right around the corner. The off-season workouts are done, the team practices are upon us, and a new year of wearing the maroon and white.

It’s that time of year, your senior year. The final year you take the court as a college player at the University you love. It’s time to engrave your name on the Rose Hill Gym floor, It’s time to lead the troops in battle, it’s time to make it to the A-10 Tournament. And it’s time to make it happen.

You’ve gone through a lot. Coaching changes, losing seasons, upset victories, long road trips, a tough road to college. And now, it’s time to win. It’s time to show America and the rest of the world who Fordham University is and where you are from. It’s time to take that leadership role and be vocal on and off the court. It’s time to build a team and make that chemistry rise to the top.

It’s been three years of watching you on the floor. The heart, the intensity, the passion, the will to win and give everything on the line. It’s time to multiply that by 100. It’s time to put the sticks down and light that fire. It’s time to show you are the best.

You’re a double-double machine, You are a proven scorer, you rebound the ball like the best of them. Now this season, go out and get it done.

Do it for your family, your friends, your teammates, but most of all do it for yourself. Show everyone that you won’t back down to a challenge. Show the world that you are not willing to let down. Show them you are a warrior and you want nothing else but wins.

It’s been a hard three years. Last year, you guys showed potential. Now it’s time to make that dream a reality.

As your biggest fan on and off the court, prove to me one thing. No matter what happens on the court everyday at practice, every game, every win, or every loss, promise me one thing.

You won’t give up.

I will be watching you and cheering you on every day. Hopefully even get to interview you this season. I wish you the best and only the best. You make me inspired on the basketball court and I don’t want to see that fire and passion fade.

It’s time to Rise CG 33. It’s time to put on those sneakers and go to work.

Players Association executive director Billy Hunter says the 2011-12 NBA season will likely be canceled entirely because the commissioner’s negotiating leeway is in danger of being undermined by a group of hard-line owners.

“The circumstances have changed among [David Stern’s] constituency,” Hunter told a group of lawyers Wednesday, as quoted in the Baltimore Sun. “In the last six or seven years, there is a new group of owners to come in who paid a premium for their franchises, and what they’re doing is kind of holding his feet to the fire.”

Hunter told an American Bar Association conference that if he “had to bet on it”, he would wager that there will be no NBA season.

“We’re $800 million apart per year,” Hunter said Wednesday, adding, “something has to happen that both of us can use as leverage to save face.”

NBA owners and players held a formal collective bargaining session for the first high-level negotiations in a month Monday but after nearly three hours of discussions the sides emerged as far apart as they were when the day began. Stern said the sides were “at the same place” as they were when the lockout began July 1 just before the old collective bargaining agreement ran out.

Owners are seeking significant changes to the league’s salary structure, claiming $300 million in losses last season and hundreds of millions more in each year of the previous agreement, which was ratified in 2005. Players have acknowledged the losses but disputed their size, and they’ve balked at the league’s push for a hard salary cap and reduction in salaries and maximum contract lengths.

The union has encouraged players to find work rather than give in to the owners’ economic demands, with the hope that owners would offer better proposals if they see their players have other options. Hunter recently sent a memo to all players endorsing locked-out players to consider playing overseas.

Nets All-Star Deron Williams agreed to an overseas deal with Besiktas of Turkey, the only superstar with an overseas deal thus far, though some lesser players have one. Many elite players say they are keeping it as an option.

…While this is some big news, I am not surprised. This lockout is going to be ridiculous because it could be even worse than the year 1999. The NBA makes so much money and now that this news was announced I am sure more and more players are going to sign overseas to play in other countries for the season. That is depressing to hear but at the same time it means that college basketball will be the most loved sport this winter and I think that is going to be a lot of fun because they won’t talk about contracts or money but play for the name on their shirt. I am excited to watch that style of basketball than one that cares about money more than success. Let’s see how far this goes…

GAME NOTES: A pair of Rams will lock horns tonight as Fordham, seeking its first Atlantic 10 Conference win of the season, travels to the Thomas F. Ryan Center to square-off against Rhode Island.

Fordham has not won a game since a Dec. 22nd victory over Kennesaw State. What has followed is a string of nine consecutive losses. A-10 play has been particularly tough on the Rams. After ending the non-conference portion of their schedule at 6-6, the Rams have lost seven straight league games.

Rhode Island has give the Rams a better name, posting a 4-3 record in A-10 play and a 13-8 mark overall. These Rams have alternated wins and losses over their last four games and will look to rebound from a 64-54 setback at Massachusetts.

With respect to the all-time series, tonight’s matchup marks the 54th meeting between Fordham and Rhode Island. The latter Rams currently hold a 31-22 lead over the former Rams.

Fordham suffered its ninth straight setback on Saturday, falling 69-60 to St. Bonaventure. The Rams never gave themselves a chance, managing just 20 first half points to trail by an insurmountable 16 at the break. They shot just 24.1 percent in the first half and hit just seven shots. They managed to hit just 25-of-72 shots on the night. Brenton Butler provided the most dependable scoring touch, as he poured in 15 points and hit all five of the Rams three- pointers. Chris Gaston added 11 points and 11 boards, but went just 5-of-14 from the field, while Branden Frazier also scored 11 points, in a struggling shooting effort (5-of-15). Surprisingly, an underwhelming offense hasn’t been Fordham’s main concern this season. The Rams score 64 ppg, but allow 71.4 ppg on the defensive end. Perimeter defense has been the main concern. Fordham posts a plus-1.2 rebounding margin, but allows teams to hit 7.3 three-pointers per game. The offense places four players in double figures, led by Gaston and Butler, who score 14.9 and 14.7 ppg, respectively. Frazier adds 11.9 ppg, while Alberto Estwick rounds out the double digit scoring with 10.1 ppg.

Rhode Island trailed Massachusetts by only three points at the half, as neither team could find the touch from the outside. Over the first 20 minutes, the Minutemen shot 36 percent to the Rams 28.6 percent to lead 25-22 at the break. Neither team got in going in the second half either, but UMass outscored URI 13-1 from the free throw line to sink the Rams. Delroy James led the team in defeat, scoring 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out six assists. The productive assist total was negated by a game-high seven turnovers. Marquis Jones added 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting as the only other Ram to score in double figures. Rhode Island typically fairs better on the offensive end, scoring a respectable 68.8 ppg. James leads the team at 17.2 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Controlling the bal has been an issue, though. James has handed out 54 assists, but has committed a team-high 71 turnovers. Nikola Malesevic and Marquis Jones round out the double digit scoring with 10.5 and 10.2 ppg, respectively. The Rams have been unable to distinguish themselves in A-10 play due to a defense which allows 68.1 ppg.

Fordham is in desperate need of a win, but don’t expect it to come tonight. Rhode Island should bounce back with a solid offensive performance against a porous Fordham defense.